Phase Two

Hello! 

I hope everyone is surviving this pandemic. I live in British Columbia, Canada and we are entering Phase two of our province reopening plan. Us British Columbians were lucky enough to not have to go into total lockdown, however I have not ridden on my horses back in over 2 months. Phase two means that many small businesses will be able to open. Social distancing rules will still be in place, but we will be allowed to slightly expand the circle of friends and family we choose to hang out with. 

My coach has been given the green light to begin teaching again. Only with owners, no student lessons. It's super exciting to be heading into some sort of new normalcy. I miss riding, I miss lessons and I was really looking forward to maybe heading off property with my gelding this year. 

Of course, nothing ever goes according to plan. Especially with horses. 

I am grateful for my health, my family's health, and my horse's health. That doesn't change the fact that I am totally bummed that my horses training has been completely put on the back burner. I am choosing to honour my feelings and emotions. It's okay to be upset. 

I've been homeschooling my daughter like a boss (she's in Kindergarten so the curriculum is extremely straight forward- hats off to you parents with older school aged kids) She is learning life skills like, cooking, laundry, and we are also growing our own vegetables. Things that will eventually take some of the workload off me- definite ulterior motives over here. 

I've been reading lots. I love to read, but the hustle and bustle of every day life sometimes means reading gets put on hold. 

If anyone has been having any riding anxiety, I highly recommend the book Brain Training for Riders written by Andrea Monsarrat Waldo. It was suggested to my coach, and she passed along the suggestion to me. I couldn't put it down. Andrea holds a Masters Degree in Counselling and was a practicing psychotherapist for many years. She is also a successful eventer and coach. 

The book breaks down why we react to anxiety in the saddle in a simple to read scientific explanation. It gives you the tools and exercises needed to "retrain" your brain to be able to cope with and overcome the crippling feeling we sometimes cannot control. 

As someone who has been going through major insecurity in the saddle, this book has helped me immensely. 

I purchased it off Amazon here.